Friday, November 28, 2014

Stay Woke

So I don't believe in staying silent on any social media site, and this issue is extremely important. Even though I don't have as many followers here as I do on my tumblr and I don't usually make posts like this on here, this is the world right now, and I think it's important to #staywoke.

If you have not heard, this past week the Grand Jury made the decision not to indict Darren Wilson, a cop who shot an 18 year old black boy at least six times (twice in the head), for reasons which in my opinion are based clearly in institutionalized racism ingrained in the training of cops, though which he would argue are that Brown reached for his gun and punched him in the face. However, there is TONS of evidence to make me question any of Wilson's testimony; like the fact that he didn't file an incident report after he literally shot someone to death (giving him all the months up until the grand jury decision to weave a story), the fact that he left the body for 4 and a half hours lying in the street, the fact that wounds in Brown's arms make it clear that his arms were up when he was shot(and eyewitnesses agree), the fact that Wilson testified that he feared for his life from the beating Brown gave him, but has only a small bruise on his right cheek, and MUCHMUCHMORE.
The failure of indictment is an absolute TRAVESTY; there was clear and reasonable doubt among the evidence presented, and yet there was no indictment. After this news hit, a wave of protests began. All the way from Ferguson (where the shooting occurred), to Oakland, California, to New York, to Washington DC, even to London, England! And these protests are not only about Michael Brown. These protests are about needing to put a stop to police brutality against black men. The use of violence against black men is extremely disproportionate to the use of force against white individuals (see the chart below for examples).

There have been some AMAZING photos shared of these incredibly brave individuals protesting for their right to LIVE quite literally, and some amazing posts and points being made all over tumblr.

Ferguson Artist Damon Davis created beautiful wall art inspired by the "Hands Up Don't Shoot" chant that protesters have been using because Michael Brown was shot with his arms up (clearly a sign of surrender) (Source)

Both black and white images above from Chicago Protests. Photos by Lawrence Agyei